Quick tips and home improvements to help you heat your home for less

As we head into the colder months and with the price of energy set to remain almost twice as high as it was last October, we are highlighting ways that people can stay warm for less this winter.

Below, we are outlining low-cost actions and easy changes around the home that people can take now to reduce energy and therefore money wasted through heat lost from their homes. At the same time, we are urging everyone that can to take advantage of the current support available to help improve home energy efficiency.

On 1 October, the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will come into place, which will fix the price per kWh for gas and electricity for UK households for the next two years. This will protect bill payers from further price increases as the wholesale cost of gas continues to rise. However, it will still mean that the average home’s annual bill will be approximately £2,500 – an increase of 97% compared to last October and 27% compared to the last price cap period April-September 2022 (based on energy price cap levels, not taking into account UK Government support).

We know that many people will have already made changes and adapted to cut back on using energy around the home. Simple, quick energy saving actions may be small but they do all add up to reduce energy use and in turn, your bills. To manage and maximise the efficiency of heating systems and stay warm for less, our tips include turning down the thermostat, installing heating controls and ensuring there is space around radiators.

To reduce home heat loss and see the biggest return on investment, we are suggesting investing in draught proofing and insulating your hot water cylinder and hot water pipes. You can also insulate any open chimneys that are not in use.

When combined, these steps would have an initial outlay of around £274 for a typical semi-detached home. This could result in an annual saving on energy bills of £294, with a payback time of less than a year at current energy prices (simple payback time calculated in line with October Energy Price Guarantee).

In addition, for those who are looking to future proof even further, installing cavity wall insulation could result in annual savings of around £395 for an £1,000 investment. 

1. If you are warm enough, try turning down your thermostat by one degree to save around £145 a year. For most, the lowest comfortable temperature to set your heating is between 18°C and 21°C (as advised by the World Health Organisation).
2. Keep a gap between your radiators and furniture, make sure curtains aren’t hanging in front of radiators and remove radiator covers to get the most heat. Bleeding radiators to remove cold spots will also help them to work effectively.
3. It costs less to set your heating to come on when you need it and just in the rooms that you are using, rather than keeping it on low all day.
4. Install a full set of heating controls, including a thermostat, programmer and thermostatic radiator valves. The cost of installation in a typical semi-detached home that doesn’t have any controls is around £580 with annual savings of £180. If you already have a thermostat and programmer, installing thermostatic radiator valves could save £55 a year.
5. Gas is still a cheaper fuel than standard rate electricity, so if you have gas central heating it is generally advisable to use this over individual electric heaters. The exception may be if you only want to heat a small area of a room for less than a few hours.

For owner-occupiers:

• The UK Government has announced support for households as part of its Energy Bill Support Scheme. This includes the £400 non-repayable discount for all households. For more information, see our blog on how to get £400 off your energy bills from October. 
• Find out if you are eligible for additional financial support from the UK Government, including the Cost of Living Payment, Disability Cost of Living Payment, Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment. Visit the gov.uk website to get help with your bills.
• Your supplier will also be able to provide information on support available.

For renters:

• If you pay for your energy as part of your rent, your landlord should pass on the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount to you and reflect the Energy Price Guarantee. If your landlord has a non-domestic contract, they will benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and should pass the savings onto you. For more information, see our blog on how energy bills will go down.  

Additional help, including energy saving advice and details of financial support, is available from the following places:

• Citizens Advice have information on what to do if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills
• If you’re in Scotland, see the Home Energy Scotland website including advice to cut energy costs
• If you’re in Wales, the Welsh Government Warm Homes Nest scheme provides free home energy efficiency improvements to eligible homes in Wales, plus advice about saving energy and water, money management and benefit entitlement. You can find out if you’re eligible here. The Welsh Government is also providing further cost of living support, including a fuel support scheme where eligible households can claim a one-off £200 cash payment from their local authority to help towards paying fuel bills.

• If you’re in Northern Ireland, contact the Energy Advice line via the Housing Executive – Community